From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

Late at night, Li Yi, a swamp dog, suffered from insomnia and found himself in a situation he had never experienced before.

Lying prone on a boulder, Li Yi opened his blood-red mouth halfway, closed his eyes, and slowly pondered what he should do next.

Having been in this world for several years, it had long since become accustomed to this cycle of deep sleep, hunting, and then deep sleep again, and had fallen into this cycle.

Now, this time, the absorption and release of lunar essence has suddenly broken this cycle, freeing it from it.

This is the initial stage, and Li Yi is not yet used to this change.

After thinking carefully all night, Li Yi slowly crawled back to his nest as the chaotic morning sun rose.

This time, it's not to continue sleeping soundly, but to explore a larger and more secluded nest.

Thanks to Li Yi's efforts, the nest, which was originally just big enough to accommodate its whole body, gradually grew larger.

The black silt flowed silently in all directions, quickly making Li Yi's lair even larger.

Click.

A rock the size of a human head, covered in mud, fell inside the nest, splashing mud and water.

Li Yi stared at it. It could only spew out black water and manipulate the water and silt within a certain range. It was powerless against this kind of rock.

As the cave gradually expanded deeper, Li Yi inadvertently watched as more and more stones fell into the swamp, and a new idea appeared in his mind.

Why not build your own nest out of stones?

Wouldn't that be both beautiful and sturdy?

But... Li Yi's eyes darted around, and looking at his short, thick limbs, he felt a little embarrassed.

I am just a black-scaled crocodile now, unlike humans or apes, whose arms and fingers are dexterous and can move heavy objects.

Moreover, his magical power is not strong enough.

So...

After thinking for a moment, Li Yi turned around in the large, dark cave and headed towards the surface of the swamp.

Right at the cave entrance, Li Yi encountered the white python that was curiously staring at the area.

It flicked its tongue, its heterochromatic eyes staring intently at this spot, a hint of confusion in its expression.

This is not in line with the usual behavior of this black crocodile. It always eats and then sleeps, and then continues to eat after waking up. Why is there such a big change?

At this moment, seeing Li Yi twisting his massive body towards it, it retreated in fear.

Until Li Yi got closer and closer.

A black-scaled crocodile and a white python of extraordinary bloodline, two intelligent swamp beasts, had never been so close to each other before.

After a long period of eye contact, the two intelligent beasts finally understood each other's meaning.

The white python nodded its head, then swam its body into Li Yi's lair, quickly reaching a depth of several feet underground.

Looking at the scattered stones around it, it began to use its nimble tail to curl them up.

In an instant, a stream of pure water swept across the surface of the stone, quickly revealing its original color.

It was embedded in the outer wall deep inside the cave.

Then comes the next piece.

Li Yi nodded slightly, turned and left to begin his new hunt.

With his consciousness purified and baptized by the moonlight, Li Yi's primal instincts were brought to their limit.

Clearly, it is the apex predator in this swamp, and at least within its territory, there are no rivals that can pose a threat.

But it remains adept at lurking, waiting, and striking with deadly precision.

In the dark yellow mist, in the distance of the black swamp, a highly vigilant figure slowly appeared.

Its limbs are slender and long, it has two horns on its head, and its fur is orange-yellow with gray spots, giving it natural camouflage in this marshland environment.

An antelope.

With a gentle push from its hind legs, a faint breeze rose from beneath its four hooves, and it leaped several meters in a single bound, swiftly traversing the swamp.

A round, plump toad was intently preparing to ambush a beetle at a barely perceptible speed.

The next moment, a slender black shadow stepped on the beetle and then quickly withdrew.

The mud splashed all over the toad, leaving it initially bewildered, then enraged.

Its eyes widened, its cheeks puffed out, and it looked in that direction, only to see a slender figure disappear into the yellow mist without a trace.

After thinking for a moment, the toad used its webbed forelimbs to scramble through the muddy water and found the beetle that had been trampled and dented, then swallowed it whole.

It did not run away immediately.

Within its small brain, this creature is harmless to itself and will not be considered food.

At most, I'll just kick it around like a ball depending on my mood.

Young antelopes, in particular, are the most despicable.

That nimble, slender figure traversed the swamp with incredible lightness.

boom!

Suddenly, the muddy water ahead burst open, and a black-scaled crocodile leaped out, breaking the silence. It opened its mouth wide and instinctively hunted this medium-sized prey, which was very difficult to catch but posed little threat.

But it missed.

The antelope leaped nimbly to avoid the attack, its hind legs landing on the antelope's head as a springboard, propelling it several meters away and disappearing from sight.

The black-scaled crocodile opened its mouth wide, silently gazing in that direction. After a long while, it slowly closed its mouth and submerged back into the muddy water.

The antelope moved quickly and swiftly, already familiar with the swamp environment. If you looked closely, you could see faint whirlpools gathering around its mouth, nose, and feet.

This makes it faster and absorbs less toxic miasma when crossing swamps.

Its purpose is to find new habitable areas in this boundless swamp.

Although this swamp is extremely dangerous, there are always some areas where one is not trapped in the calamity, and where there is no dense and poisonous miasma.

Its former home had been swallowed up, occupied, and polluted by a huge green shadow, making it uninhabitable.

Just as it continued its graceful leaps, a black water bullet suddenly shot out from the side of the swamp, exploding a large patch of silt.

It skillfully dodged the attack once again, but a sense of crisis instantly gripped its heart.

—Anything that can spit out this stuff is a predator that is not to be trifled with; it is extremely dangerous!

The next moment, its two front paws gently touched the muddy water, as if it were about to leap up again and get away from this extremely dangerous area.

Suddenly, a resistance arose.

The black silt seemed to have a life of its own, entangling its pair of slender forelegs. The momentary loss of balance caused its head to fall heavily to the ground, sinking into the swamp.

The ground was shaking, the sound clearly reaching its ears, which were covered in mud.

It had just raised its head when, out of the corner of its eye on its right, it saw a gaping maw, far larger than the previous black crocodile that had tried to attack it, snapping shut at lightning speed.

A sharp pain struck it, and its light frame shattered with a crack. It was skilled in speed, but it was no match for this immense force.

Li Yi bit the antelope, surprised.

I haven't even used any force, so why isn't it struggling anymore?